Unedited chapter
6. The Kind Person is a Snake
After receiving a pile of firewood the next day, Shu Shu inhaled the familiar smell on the firewood. He happily send off some delicious roasted stem tubers in return. Afterwards, he took some of his strong braided grass ropes and went out to collect soft hays.
These days, Shu Shu had dug three more small holes in the big cave where he lived. Two of them were used to store food, and the other one was for him to live in.
The hole he had chosen to live in was not big; he had to crawl to get inside, but he liked it this way.
After he had done with the dig, Shu Shu had used fire to bake that one hole for several days. Now he’s pondering whether he should fill the entire cave with hays, so that in the winter he could squeeze into the hays—it certainly would be very nice and warm.
Shu Shu walked here and there to collect weeds, and he soon collected quite a lot of them in just a short while. Most of these grasses were not dry, but so long as he put them out in the sun for two days, they would be dry.
It’s a pity that he did not find any cotton tree nearby. If his cave had been stuffed full of cotton, then it would surely have been very, very comfortable.
Thinking this way, Shu Shu once again yearned for human society. He remembered that cotton was very cheap for humans. At that time, his owner had cleaned up his cage every few days, and each time, his owner would replace the cotton in his small nest with clean, new one.
If only he had a big pile of cotton now!
Looking at the verdant and lush forest surrounding him, Shu Shu sighed and resignedly continued to collect weeds.
This kind of weed was abundant in the forest. Shu Shu soon collected enough weeds and then tied them up together with some grass ropes. Carrying the bundle on his back, he walked back home.
He could put many, many things in his food pouches, but to put things into his food pouches, he had to first stuff them into his mouth. Things like chestnuts, he was willing to stuff his mouth with them, but dirt-smeared stem tubers, weeds, and so on... just forget about it, OK?
“I’m a little…, no, a young boy, carrying a schoolbag on my back and going to school, not afraid of the shining sun and not afraid of the raging wind and rain, afraid of the teacher scolding me for being lazy, if I don’t learn then I will have no face to see my parents....” Shu Shu hummed a song quietly while walking home.
When he had not turned into a human yet, he had not been able to speak and also had not dared to speak. He could finally speak now, and yet the only person around was himself.... In that case, he could only keep babbling to himself.
Shu Shu had become accustomed to walking in the forest. He walked very fast, just walking and walking, when suddenly all the hair on his ears and body stood up. There was a tingling sensation on his scalp.
He was no stranger at all to this sort of situation. Formerly, he had just been a small hamster. He had even lived in the wild for quite some time, and he had often felt like this. This meant that a predator was staring at him.
Danger! Shu Shu didn't want to run, but he broke into a run right away. He had just taken a step when he felt a burst of strong wind accompanied by a rank odor behind his body.
Shu Shu hurriedly threw away the big bundle of weeds he was carrying on his back and continued to run forward without looking back.
According to his accumulated experience over the past few hundred years, at a moment like this, rather than wasting time to look back, it was better off to keep on running and running a little bit more away.
Unfortunately, although he had been cultivating, he only had a little bit of spiritual power in his body. At this time, it was useless, and it also couldn’t make him run a little faster....
Could it be that he was really going to die here and now? Shu Shu clenched his teeth; he didn't understand why suddenly there was a bold predator in the originally safe area.
No, this area could not be regarded as particularly safe. He had come across a huge snake before. Was it the huge snake that was chasing after him now?
This kind of thought flashed through Shu Shu’s mind. Then he suddenly felt that the danger was near.
He instinctively threw himself forward and rolled to the side while curling his body.
The forest ground was covered with soft leaves, but there were also many bushes with long, sharp thorns. When Shu Shu was rolling, he felt that his body was getting slashed and scratched by the surrounding bushes. This was it, this time he would finally see what had been chasing after him.
It was clearly not the snake he had seen before. Rather, it was a beast that looked like a tiger but was much, much larger than a tiger. The giant tiger did not immediately attack him, but it was advancing towards him, ready to pounce on him.
Oh, no! Shu Shu saw this scene and only felt that his heart was going to stop. If he was just a small hamster, he might still have the chance to get under the bushes and slip away. But he was a human now. This body was already not suited to live in the forest, and a human’s movements were not agile enough!
With great difficulty, he cultivated to an adult. His final, sole achievement was just making himself bigger so he could make a beast eat its fill....
Shu Shu felt that he would be scared to “death” again. His hands and feet were stiff and could not be moved; everything around him seemed to slow down. Eventually, he could only stare blankly as the giant tiger advancing towards him opened its bloody mouth wide open like a sacrificial bowl....
When Shu Shu’s palpitating heart was about to stop, a snake’s tail suddenly appeared in front of him and lashed toward the giant tiger's mouth.
The snake's tail and the tiger's mouth met head-on. A loud “thump” was heard, and blood immediately began to bloom.
The huge snake collapsed, its scales were missing, while the giant tiger opened his mouth and spat out a tooth. Following that, there was no need to say anything. The two giant creatures fought against each other.
The huge snake firmly wrapped its body round the giant tiger, and its big mouth went toward the giant tiger's neck to bite. The giant tiger was not to be outdone, it struggled to tear at the huge snake’s body.
As they tangled and fought each other, the area got damaged. Even big trees with thick trunk would break easily when getting knocked against. It was not long before the surrounding area was in a mess.
Shu Shu was beside a cluster of bushes, rigid with fear. He couldn’t move at all; his hands and feet didn’t seem like his own. Watching those two giant creatures fight, several times he thought that they would crush him down. However, those two beasts actually fought farther and farther away....
The snake seemed to be dragging the tiger away from his side? Also, was the snake the huge snake that had previously scared him to apparent death but had not harmed him?
Shu Shu's brain was awfully sluggish. He was somewhat uncertain whether he was thinking correctly or wrongly, so he might as well not think about it. He slowly tried to circulate the meager, pitiful spiritual power within his body, eager to restore his mobility as quickly as possible. But unfortunately, the more he was worrying, the more he could not do it. Ultimately, he could only lie there and stare blankly at the two giant creatures tearing at each other.
After the two giant creatures fought for a while, the outcome of the battle could eventually be predicted. The huge snake was more resourceful. It constricted the giant tiger to death, even with so many wounds on its body—dying.
It was also at this time Shu Shu discovered that he could finally move.
With his hands and feet still stiff, he slowly got up and slowly crawled away. After crawling for a while, he suddenly felt something was amiss—he smelled the scent of the kind person!
That kind person was here?
Shu Shu stopped moving, clenched his teeth, and crawled back towards the two giant creatures, hoping to find the kind person.
The giant tiger was already dead, and the huge snake was lying there motionless, but the snake’s body still slightly rose and fell. Probably sensing Shu Shu's approach, its eyes moved and looked at Shu Shu.
Shu Shu kneeled on the ground, shivering from head to toe. His teeth chattered, his ears were all pricked up, and his claws also sprouted out. He was ready to flee at any time, but even then, he still bent his body downwards and sniffed. He was seeking the scent of the kind person, someone who was able to make him feel good.
The next second, Shu Shu's eyes widened in surprise.
The kind person's scent was very strong, and it actually came from the huge snake’s body!
How was that possible?!
Shu Shu looked at the snake, and his entire body trembled even more violently. After staring blankly, he finally came to himself. He felt that it actually made sense.
When he had met the snake for the first time, the snake had not harmed him at all. Instead, it had quickly let him go. And just now... the tiger had wanted to eat him, and the snake had saved him.
The snake had been perfectly all right, no reason to fight the tiger. There was no other reason besides to save him. And in order to save him, the snake had his flesh lacerated, and apparently, it was going to die.
Shu Shu looked at the so many missing scales of the huge snake. His entire body kept shivering, and his tears unconsciously fell.
He was extremely afraid of this huge snake, but he also felt that he could not abandon his savior no matter what.
The snake had always been at his side, and he had never sensed any "danger". It might be assumed that this snake had never thought of eating him. In fact, it had been giving him quite a lot of preys….
Shu Shu was still trembling, but he abruptly wiped his tears away. Supporting himself by holding onto the tree beside him, he stood up, turned around, and ran away at once.
After seeing Shu Shu run away, Edgar lowered his head and rested it on the dead body of the giant tiger that had been constricted to death by himself. He didn’t know what to feel.
He somewhat felt a sense of loss, but he also felt that he had done the right thing.
When he had been a crown prince, although the sub-beastmen had welcomed him quite pleasantly, but the vast majority of the sub-beastmen still had not liked his icy cold beast type. To persuade them to change their opinion now that he was no longer a beastman and had become a real beast....?
Who could like a beast? The sub-beastmen always deeply loathed the fallen beasts who had lost their beast core and turned into beasts....
What's more, the little sub-beastman didn’t even know that he had once been a beastman. He reckoned that in the sub-beastman eyes, he was just a snake.
Edgar hurt terribly from head to toe, and his beating heart also hurt.
With his previous strength, he could totally have killed this giant tiger easily, but it was different now.
He had self-detonated, not to say his beast core, even his body had been seriously hurt. Now his strength was not even one-tenth of his former strength. Under such circumstances, even if he could win against the giant tiger, he would inevitably pay a high price.
Of course, the injuries that had been improving got even more serious this time.
Fortunately, by sensing the smell of him and the giant tiger, those beasts should not dare to come. He could take a good rest, and there would not be any danger to the little sub-beastman for the time being….
Edgar lay on his stomach on the ground, slowly recovering his physical strength. At this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of the little sub-beastman’s footsteps.
Raising his head unbelievingly, Edgar saw the little sub-beastman come back, holding medicinal herbs on his hand.
Because of him raising his head, the little sub-beastman who was clutching the medicinal herbs got scared; looking deathly pale, he took a few steps back. His eyes were brimming with tears; he trembled and stopped moving. He looked like he was going to faint at any time.
Edgar saw him like this and couldn't help but smile. However, snake couldn't show a smiling expression....
Afraid of scaring the little sub-beastman, Edgar dropped his head, and then he watched the trembling little sub-beastman. Taking a roundabout route and arriving at his rear, the little guy approached him solemnly and cautiously while muttering to him in a language he couldn't understand.
"Don't eat me, don't eat me. I do not taste good at all…." Shu Shu kept chanting while hastily putting the medicinal herbs in his mouth. He chewed them several times before throwing them on the wounds on the huge snake’s body.
TL's note:
I translated 碗口大的树木 (wǎn kǒu dà de shù mù) as big trees with thick trunk. I'm not sure if it's right or not since 碗口 are translated as bowl/cup and mouth.